Anchoring means



Jul 22, mm G. H. STRONG 3,456,547

ANCHORING MEANS Filed Oct. 2, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

BGYARONER HSTRONG AT RNEVS July 22, 1969 G. H. STRONG 3,456,547

ANCHORING MEANS Filed Oct. 2, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

gamma-n2 H. STRONG TTORNEVS United States Patent 3,456,547 ANCHORINGMEANS Gardner H. Strong, 22 Olive Ave., Piedmont, Calif. 94611 FiledOct. 2, 1967, Ser. No. 672,327 Int. Cl. F16b 35/02, 13/10; B66f 11/00US. Cl. 851 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An anchoring means forremovably securing a lifting ring used in lifting heavy members, as forexample, concrete slabs. The anchoring means consists of a first memberto be embedded in the slab and a second member that removably engagesthe first member to secure the lifting ring to the slab. The secondmember is designed for rapid engagement with the first member to reducethe time required to attach and remove the lifting ring.

Background of the invention The present invention relates to ananchoring means for securing together two members. For example, it canbe used for securing a removable lifting ring to a heavy object topermit the attachment to the object of a hoisting means for lifting theobject.

In recent years a form of building construction referred to as thetilt-up slab method has come into rather wide usage. In a tilt-up slabbuilding, large concrete slabs are formed either on the floor of thebuilding or on a level ground surface. The concrete slabs are thenlifted to a vertical position and interconnected to form the walls ofthe building.

The means used for lifting the slabs must be removable after the slabshave been lifted into place to present a smooth surface on the walls ofthe building. Since the lifting attachments must be installed andremoved, they must be easily and rapidly installed to save time inerecting slab walls of the building.

The present practice is to embed a nut member in the concrete slab andthen attach a lifting eye to the slab by passing a bolt through the eyeand threading it into the nut member. While this means provides asatisfactory anchoring for the lifting eye, it requires that the bolt bethreaded into the nut means. Since the nut means is embedded in theconcrete when the slab is originally poured, small particles of concretemay be deposited on the thread surfaces of the bolt means. The presenceof the concrete on the thread surfaces requires the use of a wrench tothread the bolt into the nut. This requires considerable time and thusincreases the time required to erect the walls. Additional time isrequired to remove the bolt, since a wrench must be used to remove thebolt.

Summary of the invention The present invention solves the above problemsby providing a bolt means which may be rapidly inserted in a nut meansand requires only a partial revolution to securely lock the bolt inplace. More particularly, the bolt means is formed from a pair ofseparate longitudinal cylindrical segments such as is formed when aconventional bolt is split along its longitudinal axis to form two bolthalves. A portion of the bolt along the longitudinal axis is removed sothat when the two segments are placed together, they may be easilyinserted into the nut means. After the two bolt segments are inserted inthe nut, a key member is positioned between them to expand or separatethe two bolt segments into engagement with the female threads of the nutmeans. A partial turn of the bolt will then lock it securely in place.To remove "ice the bolt, the key is first withdrawn and the two segmentsof the bolt brought together to-disengage their threaded surfaces fromthe nut threaded surfaces and permit withdrawal of the bolt segments.

It is desirable in certain cases to provide longitudinal lands along thesurface of the key and cooperating grooves along the inner surfaces ofthe bolt segments. These prevent undesirable rotation of the key betweenthe segments as well as provide a means by which the key will be guidedlongitudinally alongthe bolt. Likewise, when additional security isdesired, alocking pin can be installed in, a hole formed in the head ofthe two segments of the bolt to retain the key in position. An alternate arrangement is to provide a longitudinal slot in the key and a pinthrough the slot to retain and guide the key.

Brief description of the drawings The above objects and advantages ofthis invention will be more easily understood from the followingdetailed description of a preferred embodiment when taken in conjunctionwith the attached drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective of a lifting device incorporating a preferredembodiment of an anchoring means of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is an exploded perspective view of the lifting device showingthe individual parts;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical section of the lifting device taken along a planeindicated by line 3-3 in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a top view of the bolt means shown in FIGURES 1-3;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of a modified bolt means; and

FIGURE 6 is an exploded perspective view of the modified bolt means.

Description of a preferred embodiment Referring now to the drawings, ananchoring means constructed according to this invention is shown for usein providing quick connection and disconnection of a lifting device toan object to be lifted. More particularly, the anchoring means in theembodiment shown consists of a nut member 10 embedded in a concrete slabto be lifted and a second member or bolt 11 that is used to secure thelifting ring 12 to the slab. The construction of the nut member 10 isbest illustrated in FIGURE 2 and consists of a nut 13 that may be formedby a plurality of closely spaced turns of heavy wire or rod. A pluralityof arm members 14-17 are secured to the outer surface of the nut 13.Each of the arm members consists of a vertical section 20 that issecured to the outer surface of the nut by suitable means, as forexample, welding or the like. The vertical portion 20 of each of thearms is JOlIled to an irregularly shaped portion 21 that extends in agenerally horizontal direction from the vertical portion 20. Thehorizontally extending portion 21 of each arm may take various shapesproviding there are suflic1ent 1rregularities to securely anchor the nutmember in the slab.

The nut member is embedded in the slab 22 to be lifted by disposing thenut member therein when the slab is cast. For example, the nut membermay be positioned in the desired location and the center of the nut 13plugged with a suitable material to exclude the concrete therefrom. Theconcrete can then be poured, the slab finished, and the pluggingmaterial removed. Suitable plugging materials may consist of woodenplugs or expanded styrene foam.

The lifting ring may take various forms, for example hinged rings oreyes, or specialized attachments that are designed to cooperate with aparticular type of hoisting means. As illustrated in the drawings, andparticularly in FIGURE 2, the lifting ring consists of a'flatrectangularshaped base plate to which is attached a central boss member31. The boss member 31 is provided with a central opening 37 havingsubstantially the same diameter as the overall diameter of the boltmeans. The boss member may be formed integrally with the base plate asby means of casting or may be formed separately and attached to the baseplate by means of welding and the like. The boss 31 is provided with twooutwardly extending horizontal pin members 32 and 33.

A lifting ring or eye 34, provided with bosses 38, 39 at its lower end,is pivotally mounted on the pins 32 and 33. The lifting ring or eye 34may be held in position be peening over the ends 35 and 36 of the pins32 and 33. While the pins 32 and 33 are shown as being formed integrallywith the boss member 31, it may be preferable to form the pinsseparately, then attach the lifting ring 34 to the boss by driving theends of the pins into holes bored I in the boss member. When a unitarystructure is used for the boss and pins, it will be necessary to openthe ring 34 so that the ends of the ring can be placed over the pins.The ring can then be closed to its original position.

The construction of the second member or the bolt 11 is best illustratedin FIGURES 2 and 3. The bolt member 11 consists of two substantiallyidentical segments 40 and 41 that may be individually formed or may beformed by longitudinally splitting a bolt and removing a portion of it.The main requirement of the two bolt segments 40 and 41 is that whentheir opposing inner faces are in contact, their overall diameter isslightly less than the minor diameter of the threads in the nut 13. Inaddition, the edges 42 and 43 of the two segments are relieved so thatthe diameter across the fiat surface of the nut members is also slightlyless than the minor diameter of the threads of the nut 13. When the twobolt segments are formed as described above, it is possible to insertthe two segments into the nut member, since the overall diameter of thetwo segments will be less than the minor diameter of the threads of thenut 13.

The two segments of the bolt are expanded by means of a key 45 intoposition in which the bolt locking elements in the form of threadsengage the locking elements (threads) of the nut member. The key 45 is aflat plate member having an outline that corresponds substantially tothe outline of the flat surface of the segments. The key is alsoprovided with a head portion 46 which corresponds substantially to thedimensions of the hexagonal head of the segments. As shown, tabs or ears47 project outwardly from the edges of the head portion 46 to providemeans by which the key may be gripped for lifting from between thesegments. To insure that the key travels longitudinally along thesegments, lands 52 and 53 may be formed on opposite sides of the key asshown in FIGURE 4. The lands extend longitudinally along the outersurface of the key and engage similar grooves 54 and 55 formed in theflat surface 56 of the bolt segments. The use of a hammer or similartool may be necessary to drive the key between the segments whenconcrete has been deposited on the threads of the nut 13.

An additional safety factor can be obtained by providing a horizontalpin hole across the hexagonal head of the bolt means and a similar hole51 in the head of the key means. Thus, a safety pin may be driven intothe aligned holes to retain the key in position and prevent itsaccidentally falling out.

Operation The above anchoring means is operated by first embedding thefirst or nut member in the object to be lifted. As explained in the caseof a concrete slab, the nut member may be positioned and the concretepoured around the member to firmly embed it in position. The liftingring 12 is then secured to the slab by placing it over the nut memberand inserting the two segments of the second member or bolt through thehole in the lifting ring and into the nut member. The two segments ofthe bolt member are expanded so that their male thread surfaces engagethe female threads of the nut means by the means of the key 45. The key45 is driven between the two segments to expand them outwardly intoengagement with the threads of the nut member. As explained, the key maybe retained in position by inserting a safety pin through the alignedholes in the head of the bolt and key member. After the two segments ofthe bolt member have been expanded into position by the key, the boltmay be tightened by applying a wrench and turning the bolt slightly.Less than a single turn will be required to completely tighten the boltin the nut means to securely fasten the lifting ring to the object to belifted. The object may then be lifted by inserting the hoisting hook 60in the lifting ring 45 and lifting it in the conventional manner.

Referring to FIGURES 5 and 6, there is shown a modified bolt means inwhich a pin serves to fasten together the key and the bolt segments. Thetwo bolt segments 60 and 61 have substantially the same configuration asthe bolt segments shown in FIGURES 1-3. The key 62 is modified in thatit is provided with a longitudinal slot 63 that extends close to thebottom 64 of the key. A pin 65 extends through the heads of the two boltsegments and the slot 63. The pin should be a loose fit in both the slotand the heads of the bolt halves and may be retained in place by peeningover the ends of the pin.

The heads of the bolt segments are provided with rectangular-shapedrecesses 66 and 67 that receive the end of the key when it is withdrawn.When the modified bolt means is used, the key is completely withdrawnand the segments moved toward one another with the end of the keyfitting in the recesses. The bolt means may then be inserted in the nutmeans and the key driven between the two bolt segments to expanded them.The bolt can then be tightened by using a wrench. The modified bolt canbe removed by first withdrawing the key and then moving the boltsegments together. The bolt can then be withdrawn from the nut means.

It will be appreciated that with the above described arrangement, thekey and bolt segments are held together before and after the bolt ispositioned within a nut, and yet the key may be moved longitudinally ofthe segments to permit collapsing together of the latter.

While the anchoring means has been described in relation to theparticular nut means and threaded configuration, obviously other nutmeans and thread types may also be used. The main feature of the presentinvention is the use of a split bolt means that permits the bolt to berapidly inserted in the nut means and then expanded so that its threadswill engage the thread surfaces of the nut means. This reduces therequired rotation of the bolt to less than a complete turn, thusreducing the time required to secure the lifting ring to the slab andremove it after the slab is lifted into position. Furthermore, althoughthe anchoring means of the invention has been found particularly usefulin the securance of a lifting ring to a concrete slab, it is not limitedto such use. It can be advantageously employed whenever a rapid and yetsturdy securance is desired. In this connection, the anchoring means hasbeen found to be particularly effective in securing concrete panelstogether or to a building frame.

What is claimed is:

1. An anchoring means for rapidly securing two members togethercomprising a nut member having an internal screw thread, a bolt formedof a pair of separate longitudinal semi-cylindrical segments each ofwhich has an inner side which when placed together with the inner sideof the other segment provides the segments with an exterior transverseperipheral dimension less than the interior transverse peripheraldimension of said nut member whereby said bolt can be translatablyinserted into said nut member, the exterior side of each of saidsegments having thread portions interengageable with and complementaryto the screw thread on the interior surface of said nut member, and akey member insertable between said inner sides of said segments to spacesaid segments from each other and maintain said segment thread portionsin engagement with said thread of said nut member so that said segmentsand said key member may be rotated as a unit with respect to said nutmember to tightly draw the unit axially further into said nut member,said key member having a transverse dimension less than the interiordiameter of said nut member whereby said key member is freely insertablebetween the inner sides of said segments interiorly of said nut member.

2. The anchoring means of claim 1, wherein said nut member is adapted tobe embedded in an object.

3. The anchoring means of claim 2 wherein said nut member is formed of aplurality of closely spaced turns of heavy wire and includes a pluralityof leg members extending therefrom for firmly holding the same embeddedwithin an object.

4. The anchoring means of claim 1 wherein said segments and said keymember include cooperating longitudinal lands and grooves forlongitudinal guidance of said key member between said segments.

5. The anchoring means of claim 1 wherein said pair of segments and saidkey member have pin receiving holes therethrough adapted to be alignedupon positioning of said key member between said segments.

6. An anchoring means for rapidly securing two members togethercomprising a nut means, a bolt formed of a pair of separate longitudinalcylindrical segments which when placed together have an exteriorperipheral dimension less than the interior peripheral dimension of saidnut means whereby said bolt can be translatably inserted into said nut,a key member insertable between said segments to separate said segmentsand maintain them in engagement with said nut means; said key memberbeing .provided with a longitudinal slot extending substantially to itsends, each of said bolt segments including a head portion, a pinextending transversely through said head portion and securing said boltsegments together for limited movement toward and away from one another,said key member being disposed between said segments with said pinextending through said slot to permit longitudinal movement of said keymember relative to said segments, and recesses being formed in the innersurface of each segment about said pin adapted to receive the end ofsaid key when said key is in the withdrawn position to permit saidsegments to be placed together.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,087,759 2/1914 Gould l52,563,164 8/1951 Fletcher 294-89 3,216,171 11/1965 Jenkins 8532 ANDRESH. NEILSEN, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 294102

